It is well known that moderate cardiovascular exercise performed on a regular basis strengthens the heart and more generally helps to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. It is also generally recognized that possibly the most beneficial cardiovascular exercise is obtained when exercising outdoors where the exerciser breathes fresh air and encounters a wide array of visual input and surface conditions that combine to make the exercising experience more enjoyable. Unfortuanately, it is not always possible to exercise outdoors, which has lead to development and introduction of many different types of stationary exercise equipment, such as stationary bicycles, stair steppers, elliptical machines and treadmills.
Recently, additional features have been added to stationary exercise equipment in an attempt to make the exercise experience more enjoyable and in some instances attempt to create an experience that more closely resembles the experience of exercising outdoors. A typical example of some of these additional features is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,243 ('243 patent). The '243 patent discloses a stationary exercise bicycle that has a motion sensor attached to the bicycle frame with the sensor connected via a cable to a controller mounted on the handlebars. The controller is in turn connected via another cable to a video player that is connected via another cable to TV set or a video monitor. A video CD contains real time video and audio frames recorded on the CD with the video containing, for example, a film of a bicycle ride through the countryside from the vantage point of the rider. In operation, the user loads the CD into the video player, gets on the bicycle, and as he or she starts to pedal the video player starts playing the CD that is displayed on the TV in front of the rider. Another feature of the patented invention is that the motion sensor, preferably a reed switch, on the bicycle frame senses a change in the rotational speed of the bicycle tire by sensing the rotational speed of a magnet attached to a wheel spoke. This change in rotational speed is used as input by a program in the controller to modify the video sequence rate of the video player commensurately with the rotational pedal speed of the user. The patent claims that this feature gives the user/viewer a realistic feeling that he or she is actually following the route displayed of a bicycle traveling through the scene in real time. The patent also discloses that the time between frames is adjusted based not only on the speed of the user but also in order to ostensibly ensure that there is a smooth transition between frames. This adjustment is empirically established based upon the operational characteristics of the video player and its operating system, with the time adjustment varying for predetermined incremental increases in the speed of the bicycle.
As described above, the '243 patent incorporates some additional features into an exercise machine in order to present the user with a visual experience on a TV that ostensibly approximates the actual scene the user would encounter if he or she were following the route displayed on the TV. However, there are several significant limitations to the apparatus and method disclosed in the patent. The patent describes the utilization of a reed switch that is attached to the bicycle frame and is in communication with a magnet attached to a wheel spoke. As the user pedals the bicycle, the reed switch and its associated magnet generate a periodic, on and off, pulse of electricity of varying time periods depending on the cycling speed of the user. The varying time periods are then utilized by the video player to modify the playback duration of the CD video frames. However, the patent also points out that in order to ensure that the video player displays a smooth transition between frames that the duration of each frame must be adjusted by an empirically determined time interval that is dependent upon the operating characteristics of the video player.
The present invention overcomes these limitations of the '243 patent by providing a portable motion sensor that is worn on the leg of the user and is in remote communication with video glasses that wrap around the eyes of the user. Further, the necessity of empirically adjusting the playback speed of the video player is eliminated by incorporating a predetermined number of additional video frames to the original video during a post-production process that creates a smooth transition between frames regardless of the type of video player that is used. As a result, the sensor and video glasses of the present invention can be worn by a user on any type of exercise equipment or even without any exercise equipment at all by wearing the sensor and glasses while merely running or walking in place, and the video glasses present a stereoscopic video display to the user of a scene that appears to be realistically moving in response to the foot speed of the user. A more complete description of the invention is set forth the following sections.